Tip for Tuesday: A Bobby Pin Trick

Bobby pins aren't just for holding back flyaways anymore. One of my favorite things to use them for is to keep random papers securely placed until I can put them in their appropriate place.

You know there are always things that are floating around your purse or countertop. Some of those things are more important, like the RSVP card to my cousin's wedding...

See how I have used a bobby pin to hold it to my "Oh! What A Week Planner"? This way I won't loose it in the other mail clutter and it will get sent back in time.

This paint chip would be floating around my purse if I didn't have it bobby pinned to my life planner book mark. I'd probably forget I had it and end up getting another paint chip. Bobby pins to the rescue!

This is just one more quick fix to help control the clutter that so easily accumulates.

How I Stay Organized: My Life Planner

Welcome to Erin Condren Week here at CLMM! Jess and I are slightly obsessed with EC's fun, colorful designs and ingenious planning/life organization products. Nothing about this week is sponsored, it is completely our own opinions and nothing you see was given to us. We just really love this stuff and want to take a whole week to share the wonderfulness with you all!

About a year ago, Jess and I were talking and she was describing to me her Life Planner. I was all "wow that sounds awesome" and she was all "yes, it's fantastic, you have to have one."

I took her advice and in September 2012 I began using my Life Planner to, well, plan my life. It keeps my days organized and helps to keep me on task!

You can check out all the product features here. Today I am just going to share with you all how I use my Life Planner!

First of all, I have one "rule" for my life planner- no ink shall touch it's pages. That's right, I go old school here and ONLY use pencil. Apparently, as much as I try to plan my life there are always things that change and I can't stand having to cross out and write in. :-)

 One of the features I use on a regular basis are the stickers that come with the Life Planner. There are some that are pre-made (dr. apt, mani/pedi, etc.) and then there are blank ones. I love the stickers because they make important things stand out. Sometimes you need things to jump off the page and get your attention, like swim lessons, or that dentist appointment you made 6 months ago that is suddenly only days away. 

 The things I write in my planner:

Blog posts- I write in my ideas for the week and then I put a big "S" over them when they are scheduled, I also write in Jess' posts when she schedules them. This helps me with social media because I can see what I need to Tweet about for the week.

Weird work hours- I use Outlook to keep me organized at work so I don't include work appointments in my planner, however, if my work hours change I write it in to remind me and so I won't forget to tell our sitters.

Appointments and Events- obviously, I keep track of the whole family's appointments as well as special things we have to do, like birthday parties, swim lessons, play dates, etc.

Meal Plan- you can see here how I use my planner to do my monthly meal plan, every week I write in the meals we are having at the bottom of each day.

Goals- any projects I want to finish that week or important things I need to get done go in this handy little side section.

To Do- There is a weekly "to do" list space, but I usually write in what I need to accomplish each day in the actual day, not the "to do list". In the pic above, I have written in on Wednesday that I need to photograph and write a blog post. Sometimes I will make a to do list of errands I need to run or people I need to call. I love lists... 

I love the perpetual calendar in the front of the planner. This is another tool that I use weekly. I always check to see if I have a birthday or anniversary coming up. I can also see how many cards I am going to need each month and then I can add those to my grocery store list. 

Are you a quote person? I am! I love the quotes throughout the planner- just a nice extra :-) Another "extra" feature I love are the notes pages in the back of the planner. I use them for things like planning parties or weekend getaways so that all my notes stay in one place.

When you get something in the mail that looks like this, you know it's going to be good. I have just ordered my new Life Planner and I am so excited about the extra features this edition will have. I love anything that helps to keep my life on track, this life planner delivers!

The EC team sums it up nicely, "Enjoy!"

Party Pinatas: Sugarless Stuffers

My Little Man just turned 5. Don't even get me started on how crazy that is.

He wanted a dinosaur party which was easy enough. I don't do "Pinterest party's", it stresses me out too much to try to pull off cute decor and themed activities as well as all the food... I digress. I took Little Man to the party supply store and we picked out plates, napkins and a Pinata. Done.

I love pinata's. I think they are so fun and it cracks me up to watch the kiddos try to break it open. One thing that I don't do, however, is stuff it with only candy. I like a 20/80, candy to trinkets ratio.

Here's why:
1. Partys are all about the sweet stuff- cake and ice cream! I don't want too much candy to cause sugar overload.
2. This replaces the traditional goodie bag. Anything you would put in a goodie bag will more than likely fit into the pinata!
3. You only have to stuff one thing, not lots of little bags :-)

For Little Man's party, I found these little dinosaurs at the dollar store. Add in some suckers and, boom, you've got a par-tay.

Anything will work and you can stick with the theme of your party, here are some ideas:
Little animals
Bouncy Balls
Little bubble containers (like the wedding favors)
Crayons
Beaded necklaces
Gold coins (think: pirate treasure)

Look in the party favor section, usually anything that you can stuff into a goodie bag will do. Rawr!

Hi, my name is “Mommy”, “Babe”, “Sette”, “Squirt”, “Sis”…

This is Lissette and I last fall. She is an amazing person and I am beyond blessed to call her a friend. I've asked her to share her experience with starting up a MOMS Club. Adult interaction and mommy friends are sanity savers- big time! So, without further ado, here's Sette!

…also known as, Lissette, stay-at-home-mom, wife, friend, daughter, sister.  Some of the many names and hats I wear in my life, and I answer to all of the names above for the various titles given.  I am a 29 year old woman who holds a degree in Psychology and Sociology with a background in Social Work.  I also have a degree in butt-wiping, puke cleaning, baby bathing, cooking, “boo-boo” kissing, and hugs and kisses distributor.  I feel I am currently more defined by the latter.

                I try to be active in the community, but sometimes feel I overwhelm myself with what I want to do and what can actually be done.  I have two children who are 2 years old and almost 7 months old.  Both boys.  They keep me busy enough throughout the day I cannot remember what I was about to do, let alone what I need to do that day or week.  Funny how children make things a bit more interesting at all times.  I currently volunteer with March of Dimes in organizing their annual March for Babies event in our local area and fundraise for our family team as well.  In addition to this, I founded a MOMS Club chapter in our town and it is growing quickly. 

Growing up I always thought I would have a job where I go into an office, or the like, and work my whole life at something I only half enjoyed.  Never in my imagination did I think I would be able to stay home with my children at such a young age for myself and them.  Thanks to my husband, I have been a SAHM since my oldest son was born, and although it has challenges I would not want it any different.  I have not ever worked in an office while raising children, but I feel this “job” as their mother is the most difficult one I have held.  The most difficult, for me, is trying to stay connected to adults and other mothers like myself as being an at-home mother can be isolating.  There is only so much conversation you can have with a toddler.  When we moved to our town my oldest son was only 4 months old.  I had lived here before when attending college, but let’s face it, living somewhere as an undergrad is completely different than living in that same place as a mother!  Completely.  Different.  I did not know a soul and it’s a town where the main focus is on the college and not much in the community.  I searched and searched for a “mom group” where I could get connected and make some new friends.  I found a MOPS group which was already formed, but they were not meeting until September and it was May.  I had to wait out the entire summer to make any friends.  It sucked.  So, September came and I attended the meeting.  Only to find this group met twice a month and they were thinking of going to only once a month.  I don’t know about you, but how are you supposed to get to know people you only see once a month!?!  A month later, the group disbanded.  I came up short in the “friends making” department.

In the previous city we lived in I heard about MOMS Club at my son’s pediatrician’s office.  I thought it would be so neat to join and get to know other SAHM’s, but did not get a chance to as we moved shortly after this.  After the MOPS group was over I was at a loss.  We’re looking at about November after we had moved in May.  After I waited the whole summer to finally meet some other moms!  Coincidentally, I ran into an old college friend while grocery shopping who introduced me to a group of women who met once a week for a Bible study.  I was kind of desperate, so I joined.  All the while, in the back of my head I could not get over how much our community needed a “mom group”.  It desperately needed a group where the women had one thing in common, being a mom.  To me, it did not matter about anything else, such as, religion, politics, etc.  I needed mommy bonding.  Apparently, I was not the only one.  I talked to some other women I had met and pitched the idea to see if there was any interest in such a group before I got in over my head.  It seemed every mother I talked to was ecstatic about it, and my energy soon followed with the same excitement.  After several months of deliberating, I decided to go for it.  In March 2012, I registered our local chapter with the International organization MOMS Club.  On March 27, 2012, we officially became MOMS Club of Stillwater, OK and we had 1 member, myself.  Starting from scratch with so many ideas and having no idea what to do with them.  My oldest son was 14 months old.  Two days later, I found out I was pregnant.  Crap. 

Stay tuned for more from Lissette when "Part 2" hits the blog soon!

Tip for Tuesday: Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Have you ever had mashed potatoes that were watery, not creamy? That's a bummer.

Here's a little tip to make sure your mashed potatoes are never watery again!

After you boil and drain your potatoes, before you mash them, put them back in the hot pan (same pan you used to boil them, minus the water). Let them sit for at least 5 minutes before adding your butter and milk and mashing. Usually, you don't have to turn the heat back on, but if you want to make sure the pan is hot enough, turn the heat on low.

Can you see the steam? That's all the excess water in the potatoes evaporating which means it won't water down your mashed potatoes!

THE BEST Meatloaf Sauce

KC and I have a great family. We often get together for family meals with our moms and close relatives. Both of us have dishes we love to make at home because our moms made them for us growing up. My mom and my mother-in-law are great cooks! I have many recipes in my recipe box that are from them and I love that I can cook for my kids the way our moms cooked for us.

One recipe that I had to call my mother-in-law for was her meatloaf. KC loves it and wants it to be made exactly the way his mom makes it. This is completely fine with me! I've never been much of a meatloaf fan, but the sauce that my mom-in-law puts on her meatloaf is what makes this recipe so delicious. We have meatloaf and mashed potatoes at least once a month!

You can use this on top of any meatloaf variety. The sauce is so easy to make but makes a world of difference in the flavor of the meatloaf.

Ingredients

1.5 T Yellow Mustard

1 T Brown Sugar

1/4 c. Ketchup

Directions

While the meatloaf is on the oven, mix together ingredients until all of the brown sugar has dissolved into the sauce.

15 minutes before the meatloaf is finished cooking, take it out of the oven, cover with sauce, and return to the oven for the remaining cooking time.

See? So simple but so good!

You might notice that my meatloaf in the top picture isn't in a loaf pan. This is my mommy machine secret to faster cooking time! I also like doing it this way because there is a crust on the outside and the meatloaf isn't as soggy.

Another variation on my standard meatloaf recipe is adding sliced onions and green bell peppers to the top of the meatloaf (under the sauce in the top picture). This just adds a different texture, and it's easy to pick off but leaves a great flavor for the picky eaters in the family.

What's for dinner at your house tonight?

Get Ready for Going Back to School

Summer is such a relaxing time. Well, for my kids anyway. They get to go to the babysitter's house in their PJ's while I go to work. Must be nice ;-)

Anyway, August means "back to school". Yikes! How did that sneak up on me?! All of a sudden I start thinking about what a shock it is going to be when I have to get the kids up and at'em and dressed and ready... oy.

In an effort to make this a little easier, I have created morning and bed time "routine check lists" for my 5-year-old (he's only 5 years and 1 day old... my baby boy... **sigh**).  Since he is going to be in "big kid school" I know that our mornings will be our most important times- they will set the tone for the rest of the day. You can't have a good morning if you don't have a good bed time. Thus, the routine.

I sat down with Little Man and showed him what I was making- I talked it up "this is your big boy check list!" I included pictures with very simple words. I kept it to just 3 steps. Very simple! He loves being a big boy and getting ready on his own. I make a point to tell him how great he is doing and when I notice he has done something (like get dressed) I acknowledge what he's done and ask him what's next. He has to go check his check list, I don't prompt him. This is part of the experience!

Here are our check lists. You can make your own and customize them, or just use these. If your kids are older you may want to make them a little more in depth :-)

CLMM Morning Routine

CLMM Bed Time Routine

How do you get in the back to school routine? I'd love to hear your suggestions!